The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-07
KEPT HER ENGAGEMENT.
Lecture Which Mrs Livsrmore Refused to
POSTPONE on Account of the Weather.

POSTPONE on Account of the Weather.
Boston Advertiser.
There is good story about Mrs Livermors
which has gone long enough untold She was
booked to lecture in Melrose one evening severa
years ago. for the benefit of the Unitarian
Church, of which she IS a member Tickets were
sold to the extent of che seating capacity OF tn
house. and 5000 had been taken in by the com
mittee of sale on the Saturday announced as the
day of the lecture The evening came, and with
it came one of the worst storms of New Eng
land winter. Snow and slush and rain. bitter
cold and impossible streets, the widest and
most impossible of nights for an audience of any
sort. Mr.. Norris, of the lecture committee,
came to Mrs. Livermore's house at dark.
1.-The lecture must be postponed" said he.
at can't be done," was the reply. 81 leave
Monday morning to fill three-months list OF
Western engagements. l must lecture for our
church tonight, or not at all this year. When
was crossing rhe Atlantic once. there came up a
great storm, and / tried to find out from the
steward, who came to fasten my window. how
much of a storm it was. He would tell me moth
ing Don't know nothin' about the weather.
said he The weather's the captains business.
It's my lookout to tend to things below decks.
That's the case now. The wsathers the cap
tains business: Its my business to do what
I'm booked to do. I'm going over to the church
and give that lecture, beginning at the hour ad-
verrised, whether there is anybody there or
not"
But you can't get over there mother" urged
Mr.. Norris. Hslived, at the time, several streets
distant.
How did you get down here ?" she asked.
Very we'll, that cab may take me to the
church and then it may bring all of the people in
this house and in your honse down to the church
We can have a homemade audience, at all
events and 1t wor. kill the cab horse to get as
through tho street, either"
Mr. Norris fell into the spirit Of the OCCASION
and when at the appointed time Mrs. Livermore
rose at the reading desk. she saw before her an
audience of seventeen people, counting every
member young and old, ''bond and free" Of her
own and her daughters households. and in
Guiding three
Her flock knew the lecture well. and they
were accustomed to be playful with her, Her
the lecturer had been speaking very long.
Come. wife," he said from his pew. I'VE know
all that and you have lectured long enough to
satisfy your conscience Let call It done and
20 home, it's cold here"
please keep stil my DEAR" she said drop
Ing the lecturing tone for the copjueal one; Il
lecture. I'm not to blame that have such an
unappreciative audience" Then she went on
with the arguments and her illustrations of her
theme.
Mother" was the next interruption, ''do
finish; want to take the children home and put
them to bed"
Let them go to sleep where they are. Cover
them up, and don't interrupt. This is public
lecture, and it isn't proper for you to speak out
in that way. You mustn't talk if your naughty
mamma does. my dears," to her grandchildren.
Then the lecture went The lively audience
set up their coats and shawls dummy mem-
bers of a large audience. They applauded in
the rlRut pidCcS anu ydWneQ In the WrODg ones,
they lifted up their voices and then to try
and beg off from being the great public, but
were promptly told each time to be quiet by the
voice of maternal authority. It took Mrs Liver
more quarter hour longer to give that lecture
than her usual time for it,-subjected, rs she
was. to domestic Interruptions; but in her own
words, she "lectured honest and fair one hour
and fifteen minutes until the address
given"
In spite of the comedy of it all. into which
one could enter more heartily thaa Mrs Liver
more herself, there was a heroic view of the fact
that in spite of wind and water and the most dif-
fcult audience that a speaker ever had, she
stood up there and gave the lecture because it
was i'm possible to keep faith with the people of
Melrose unless she gave il that night, even
though they could not come to hear her.
On the Monday after this Saturday night she
went West to fulfill her engagements. and the
money for the tickets sold for the Saturday
night lecture wen. into the treasury of the Uni
tartan Church. She has given her services many
times to this church and to others. and in the
public meetings of various kinds held in the
town where she lives and is beloved but it can
never be quite believed that Mrs. Livermore
ever counted Melrose audience by units in
stead of hundreds.